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Introduction
I am the Animal Behaviour Program Director and a Senior Lecturer of Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare in the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at the University of Adelaide (Australia). Most of my work involves behavioral research applied to the welfare, enrichment, and training of zoo, aquarium, and companion animals. My general research focus is in animal welfare and the applied animal sciences, largely influenced by learning and evolutionary theories and perspectives.
Current institution
Additional affiliations
September 2014 - August 2018
September 2018 - August 2020
September 2008 - August 2014
Education
September 2003 - May 2008
September 2000 - May 2003
September 1996 - May 2000
Publications
Publications (113)
Husbandry training and environmental enrichment are both important advancements associated with current behavioural welfare practices. Additionally, the use of training procedures has been proposed as a form of enrichment, with the implication that training can produce beneficial behavioural welfare results. This paper examines the concept of train...
Behavioural research requires the use of sampling methods to document the occurrence of responses observed. Sampling/recording methods include ad libitum, continuous, pinpoint (instantaneous), and one-zero (interval) sampling. Researchers have questioned the utility of each sampling method under different contexts. Our study compared computerized s...
Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVI) within zoos and aquariums have become an increasingly studied topic. Influenced by both the broader field of Human-Animal Interactions (HAI), as well as visitor studies conducted in museums, AVI studies can be separated into two areas of focus: (1) Visitor effects, or the impact visitors have on the animals housed...
Some of the earliest applications outside the laboratory of principles derived from the experimental analysis of behavior (EAB), such as the pioneering work of Keller and Marian Breland, involved animals. This translational tradition continues to the present as EAB‐related behavior principles are applied with increasing frequency to behavior manage...
Simple Summary
Human–animal interactions are an important focus of modern animal welfare research. A subset of this interest includes animal–visitor interactions that occur in zoos. One understudied aspect of animal–visitor interactions involves public feedings, where visitors can directly feed the zoo animals. We examined the effects of public fee...
Ethics in animal training practices has in the last few decades seen great interest, inspired by animal training practitioners and owners/guardians motivated to improve the lives of their animals. Likewise, the applied animal sciences has seen increased focus on research dedicated to the welfare and well-being of animals across a variety of setting...
Birds are kept in captive settings globally, and many of these birds are not flight-restrained. It is generally considered more ethical to house birds in aviaries than to practice flight restraint through wing clipping or pinioning, which means that aviaries are needed to prevent birds from escaping. Traditionally, rectangular aviaries are commonly...
Natural environmental conditions are often overlooked in the welfare evaluation of captive animals despite their significant impact. However, numerous studies have shown how factors such as temperature and relative humidity influence the behaviour of wild avian species, leading to reduced foraging, locomotion and increased call rates. Additionally,...
Ongoing research on the effectiveness of enrichment at the species, group, and individual levels is beneficial to our growing understanding of animal welfare and behaviour for animals housed in human care. Diversifying the enrichment opportunities offered to animals in facilities such as zoos and aquariums helps to encourage a wide repertoire of sp...
Felids, particularly the big cats, are considered some of the most popular exhibited animals in zoos. However, little is known about the general enrichment practices for felids in and across zoos, particularly as they relate to published findings. This scoping review provides an overview of enrichment practices for zoo felids, summarises their beha...
Good enclosure design is central to the improvement of conditions for animals housed in zoos and aquaria, yet the study of a priori enclosure design or post hoc through Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) is somewhat limited in the scientific literature. The concept of trialing novel exhibit components before enclosure construction, through a process k...
Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is a neurodegenerative disease likely to affect 14% to 35% of dogs over the age of eight years. Although it can be associated with a high burden of care in owners of affected dogs, there is a lack of knowledge of how veterinarians diagnose and manage the disease. The aim of this study was to determine how veterina...
Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) are currently listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. In modern zoos, the need to balance the welfare of tigers while maintaining visitor interest presents a significant challenge. The aim of this study was to assess the behaviour of five Sumatran tigers housed in two separate groups and habi...
Preference tests (also referred to as preference assessments) in applied animal settings, are often utilised to facilitate the selection of stimuli or events for applications such as animal training rewards and environmental enrichment. Several different preference assessments have been devised and utilised with animals to evaluate different stimul...
Little is known about cassowary behavior, thus making our understanding of their welfare needs in human care limited. Our study compared several welfare-related behavior metrics between two Southern cassowaries located at Adelaide Zoo. A 16 behavior, seven class ethogram, Shannon’s behavioral diversity index, and habitat use heat maps were implemen...
This book has presented the most comprehensive description and assessment of human–animal interactions in zoos, specifically animal–visitor interactions, that currently exists. It is designed to be used as a practical tool to help guide decision making and identify exciting areas for further exploration. This concluding chapter summarizes the emerg...
Over the last several decades, the study of animal–visitor interactions has become one of the most examined areas of research in zoos and aquariums. Considered a subfield of human–animal interactions, research on interactions in zoos is often focused on the impact of visitors on animals (i.e. the visitor effect), and the impact of animals on visito...
In the past couple of decades, Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVI), a type of Human-Animal Interaction (HAI), have become one of the major topics of interest for researchers working in zoos, especially in relation to animal welfare.
This thought-provoking book summarizes the latest research concerning the impacts on HAIs in zoos, including the effec...
Choice and control" is a phrase used widely in animal welfare science to describe providing captive animals with the ability to select between possible outcomes (stimuli or events). This concept has gained traction as a pivotal management technique across a variety of captive settings; however, little has been done to quantitatively evaluate choice...
First week survival and egg hatchability are lower in chicks from younger broiler breeder hen flocks. Creatine is a naturally occurring compound synthesised from the amino acid arginine or obtained from the diet and is important in the storage and transport of energy. Previous research found an improvement in the hatch rate but no post hatch perfor...
Article printed in a Choice special issue of Operants, the publication of the B. F. Skinner Foundation, March, 2024. Andy Lattal and I were Guest Editors of the special issue. Reference is as follows: Lattal, K. A., & Fernandez, E. J. (2024). Behavior analysis and the shaping of the modern zoo. Operants, 12, 5-6.
The use of odor detection dogs provide many benefits to society. However, little has been done to empirically examine the learning procedure methodology used to train detection dogs. This study aimed to create a quantifiable shaping plan allowing the measurement of initial odor learning for detection dog training. The training progress of two dogs...
The ethics of animal training procedures have seen dramatic changes in the last few decades, with a movement toward reward-based training methods. These reward-based training practices have also been directly impacted by the behavioral and animal welfare sciences, including their research outputs. In the last couple of decades, the Least Intrusive,...
It is commonly reported that many companion dogs are sensitive to sudden, loud noises (e.g., fireworks, thunderstorms). However, sensitivities towards other noises in a dog’s home and environment are not well understood. This study aimed to further investigate the types of noises that evoke a negative reaction in dogs and the associated risk factor...
Errorless learning is a stimulus fading procedure that can reduce incorrect responses in a stimulus discrimination task. Errorless learning has been described as a beneficial dog training procedure, although minimal research has been performed with dogs to support its use. The current study compared the effects of using an errorless learning to a t...
Zoos regularly build new exhibits, many of which cost millions of US dollars. It is important that exhibits deliver from an animal, visitor, and staff perspective. It is rare for zoo exhibits to be quantitatively assessed, including trialing of exhibit design, even though this is common practice in the museum sector. This paper highlights the poten...
Research in zoos is an important scientific endeavor that requires several complex considerations in order to occur. Among those many considerations are the ethics involved in conducting zoo research. However, it is not always clear how zoo researchers should go about resolving any research ethics matters, even determining when some type of researc...
The roles companion animals have played in our lives has dramatically changed over the last few decades. At the same time, the terms we use to describe both the people and animals in these human-animal relationships have also changed. One example includes the use of the terms 'owner' or 'guardian' to refer to the human caretaker. While preferences...
Review question/ Objective: How have stimulus preference tests been designed in applied animal settings? The objective is to examine how repeated tests of stimulus choices are designed in non-laboratory captive animal environments. A focus of this review will be the type of preference test used (e.g. paired-choice), stimulus items used (e.g. food i...
Simple Summary
Pet dogs are more prone to exhibit challenging behaviors than ever before. Dog trainers are increasingly tasked with helping pet owners resolve behavior issues, not just teach their charges good manners. The interventions used by professionals to help ameliorate behavior complaints must be evidence-based and include the effectiveness...
Response-independent schedules involve the delivery of an item independent of a response requirement. Often described in the applied behavior analytic literature as "noncontingent reinforcement" (NCR), they have also frequently been used to reduce undesired or problematic behaviors. The current study examined the use of an automated response-indepe...
Many zoos favor the use of signage to encourage learning and positive visitor experiences as well as discourage negative behaviors by visitors because of its simplicity, relatively low maintenance needed, and low cost. However, current literature suggests that conventional signage has limited impact on visitors in zoos. This study hypothesized that...
Play is often considered an indicator and promotor of animal welfare and may facilitate closer cat-human relationships. However, few studies have empirically investigated these associations. The current study aimed to investigate play-related factors associated with four welfare outcome measures in cats ( Felis catus ) including: cat quality of lif...
In 1948, Skinner described the behavior of pigeons under response‐independent schedules as “superstitious,” and proposed that the responses were reinforced by contiguous, adventitious food deliveries. Subsequently, response‐independent schedules have been of interest to both basic and applied researchers, first to understand the mechanisms involved...
The field of applied behavior analysis has been directly involved in both research and applications of behavioral principles to improve the lives of captive zoo animals. Thirty years ago, Forthman and Ogden (1992) wrote one of the first papers documenting some of these efforts. Since that time, considerable work has been done using behavioral princ...
A primary goal of zoos is to educate their visitors about global conservation efforts. Studying visitors' perceptions and attitudes towards captive and wild endangered species helps target conservation messaging. This is especially important in countries, such as Pakistan, where hunting and human-wildlife conflict pose the greatest threats to speci...
In 1948, Skinner described the behavior of pigeons under response-independent schedules as "superstitious," and proposed that the responses were reinforced by contiguous, adventitious food deliveries. Subsequently, response-independent schedules have been of interest to both basic and applied researchers, first to understand the mechanisms involved...
Paper presented online as part of the Arthur Rylah Institute Seminar Series, Heidelberg, Victoria (Australia).
The field of applied behavior analysis has been directly involved in both research and applications of behavioral principles to improve the lives of captive zoo animals. Thirty years ago, Forthman and Ogden (1992) wrote one of the first papers documenting some of these efforts. Since that time, considerable work has been done using behavioral princ...
Play and welfare have long been linked within animal research literature, with play considered as both a potential indicator and promoter of welfare. An indicator due to observations that play is exhibited most frequently in times when an animal's fitness is not under threat and when immediate needs such as food, water and adequate space are met. A...
Poster presented at the DVM-1 and Honours Research Day at the Roseworthy Campus of the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA (Australia).
Paper presented at the DVM-1 and Honours Research Day at the Roseworthy Campus of the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA (Australia).
Simple Summary
Behavioral diversity is sometimes used by animal scientists to better understand and compare how animals behave. The methods used in behavioral diversity research have not been investigated across the entire research sector. This paper aims to identify which methods are being used in behavioral diversity research and find some novel...
Simple Summary
Modern zoos and aquariums are defined by several goals, which include improving the welfare of their animals, conservation efforts, public education, research, and visitor enjoyment. Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVIs) are a means to study the outcomes of some of these goals. These outcomes can be measured in terms of visitor effects...
Background: We aimed to assess whether stress, boredom, drinking motives, and/or inhibitory control were related to alcohol use during a period of social isolation.
Method: Analyses were carried out on questionnaire data (N = 337) collected during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (7 April–3 May 2020). We first assessed changes in drinking be...
Paper presented at the Association for Behaviour Analysis Australia Conference in Sydney, NSW (Australia).
Poster presented at the SPFC Research Conference in Seattle, WA (USA).
Poster presented at the SPFC Research Conference in Seattle, WA (USA).
Paper presented at the SPFC Research Conference in Seattle, WA (USA).
Play is a common behavior, often exhibited within human-cat dyads. Play is a behavior that may have numerous benefits to both cat and human, including within the realms of social cooperation and inter-species communication. However, little is known about human-cat play and foundational information is needed. The current study aimed to investigate t...
Enclosure use assessments have gained popularity as one of the tools for animal welfare assessments and Post Occupancy Evaluations. There are now a plethora of studies and enclosure use indices available in published literature, and identification of the most appropriate index for each research question is often challenging. The benefits and limita...
Paper presented at the Pet Professional Guild's Geek Week (online), Hernando, FL (USA).
This workshop is focused on the design of novel kinds of environmental enrichment for zoo-housed reptiles, using technology to support the development of interactive systems and devices for capturing data. Participants will work virtually in small groups to ideate, reflect on and develop concepts, using a ZooJam approach, which is similar to a game...
Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVIs) have become commonplace in zoological institutions and facilities globally. However, most AVI research focuses on the effects of visitors on the welfare of animals, with considerably fewer studies examining the visitor experience itself. Furthermore, robust evaluations of the efficacy of zoo education programs and...
The modern zoo has been associated with two major behavioral welfare advances: (a) the use of training to increase voluntary husbandry care, and (b) the implementation of environmental enrichment to promote naturalistic behaviors. Both practices have their roots in behavior analysis, or the operant conditioning-centered, reward-based approach to be...
Article printed in an Applied Animal Behavior special issue of Operants, the publication of the B. F. Skinner Foundation, Fall, 2021. I was the Associate Editor of the special issue. Reference is as follows:
Fernandez, E. J. (2021). Behavior analysis and the shaping of the modern zoo. Operants, 9(2-3), 14-16.
The modern zoo has been associated with two major behavioral welfare advances: (a) the use of training to increase voluntary husbandry care, and (b) the implementation of environmental enrichment to promote naturalistic behaviors. Both practices have their roots in behavior analysis, or the operant conditioning-centered, reward-based approach to be...
This workshop is focused on the design of novel kinds of environmental enrichment for zoo-housed reptiles, using technology to support the development of interactive systems and devices for capturing data. Participants will work virtually in small groups to ideate, reflect on and develop concepts, using a ZooJam approach, which is similar to a game...
Video of the live trout feeding for the Humboldt penguins at Woodland Park Zoo. This is part of the study for following reference:
Fernandez, E. J., Myers, M., & Hawkes, N. C. (2021). The Effects of Live Feeding on Swimming Activity and Exhibit Use in Zoo Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti). Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens, 2(1),...
Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVIs) have become commonplace in zoological institutions and facilities globally. However, most AVI research focuses on the effects of visitors on the welfare of animals, with considerably less studies examining the visitor experience itself. Furthermore, robust evaluations of the efficacy of zoo education programs and...
Enclosure use assessments have gained popularity as one of the tools for animal welfare assessments and Post Occupancy Evaluations. There are now a plethora of studies and enclosure use indices available in published literature, and identification of the most appropriate index for each research question is often challenging. The benefits and limita...
Husbandry training and environmental enrichment are both important advancements associated with current behavioral welfare practices. Additionally, the use of training procedures has been proposed as a form of enrichment, with the implication that training can produce beneficial behavioral welfare results. This paper examines the concept of trainin...
African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are a popularly exhibited zoo animal, frequently housed in groups to represent their natural packs in the wild. While such group housing is common, the effects of changes to that group are seldom directly investigated. This study examined the enclosure use of three African wild dog siblings located at the Woodland...
Penguins are considered among the most popular animals for zoo and aquarium visitors to observe. Swimming is considered a desirable activity, both for the visitor experience and the welfare of the penguins. However, little is known about the amount of time exhibited penguins spend swimming, or how such swimming is related to regular feeding events....
Stereotypies in captive animals have been defined as repetitive, largely invariant patterns of behavior that serve no obvious goal or function. Stereotypies are commonly attributed to boredom or stress and are typically treated by enriching captivity with distracting, appealing stimuli. These stimuli often include food presented at times other than...
Captive grizzly bears, like their wild counterparts, engage in considerable variability in their seasonal and daily activity. We documented the year-long activity of two grizzly bears located at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington. We found that behaviors emerged in relation to month-to-month, seasonal, and time of day (hour-to-hour) obser...
The re-release of golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia), from zoos into the wild, is considered to be an ex situ conservation success story. However, zoo-born golden lion tamarins have lower survival rates than their wild-born offspring, potentially due to deficient foraging and locomotion ‘survival skills’ acquired in captivity. The curren...
This study examined two procedures for establishing halter behavior (i.e., acceptance of wearing and being led via a halter) and decreasing undesired behavior in three petting zoo goats: a fixed-time 15-s (FT-15-s) schedule and shaping involving a clicker. The FT schedule was successful in training initial approximations, but over a longer period f...
Simple Summary
The present study examines the use of response-independent food schedules (food delivered independent of what an animal is doing) and negative reinforcement in the form of a trainer removing themselves from the presence of an animal to effectively train approach and contact behaviors in petting zoo sheep. All sheep had previously bee...
![Percentage of activity (with standard error of the mean bars [SE]) for...](publication/342124318/figure/fig4/AS:11431281328506468@1743120811034/Percentage-of-activity-with-standard-error-of-the-mean-bars-SE-for-the-5-most_Q320.jpg)
Simple Summary
The following study examined the behaviors and water vs. land use of an outdoor exhibit by three zoo hippos. Behavioral observations were correlated with water temperatures at the exhibit, and compared to the number of days (0, 1, or 2 days) since the water within the outdoor pool had been dumped and refilled. The water changing of t...
Published in the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) Journal, May 1st, 2020:
https://summer2020.iaabcjournal.org/saving-time-in-zoos-through-behavior-investment/
Shaping through differential reinforcement of successive approximations to a target response has been a cornerstone procedure for the training of novel behavior. However, much of how it has traditionally been implemented occurs through informal observation, rather than any direct, systematic measurement. In the following study, an African crested p...
The modern zoo has brought about two major advances in the behavioral welfare of their exhibited animals: (a) The use of environmental enrichment to promote naturalistic behaviors and (b) the use of training to improve voluntary husbandry care. Whereas training itself has been talked about as an effective enrichment strategy, little has been done t...
Six-year follow-up of enrichment device delivery, and with penguin porpoising.
1.5-year follow-up of enrichment device delivery.
AZA Conservation Education Committee Newsletter, 13(2), 14-15.
Environmental enrichment has become a standard tool for improving the welfare of animals in zoos. Two critical steps in the manipulation of environmental enrichment are (1) selection of objects/procedures and (2) evaluation of their effects. In this study, we examined the selection and evaluation of feeding enrichment for four species of lemur. Exp...
Modern zoos strive to educate visitors about zoo animals and their wild counterparts’ conservation needs while fostering appreciation for wildlife in general. This research review examines how zoos influence those who visit them. Much of the research to-date examines zoo visitors’ behaviors and perceptions in relation to specific exhibits, animals,...
Studies on enrichment effects have become commonplace. However, few studies have assessed any overall trends in enrichment practices. Previous meta-analyses were limited to the effects of enrichment on specific behaviors, taxa, or settings. Here, we conduct a meta-analysis of enrichment including multiple behaviors, taxa, and settings. We analyzed...
Over the past several decades, zoos have focused more directly on the welfare of their animal residents. The use of naturalistic enclosures, environmental enrichment, changes in the ways food is presented, and the use of operant conditioning practices are just a few examples of the attempts aimed at enhancing the well-being of zoo animals. This foc...
The use of Behavior Analysis within the animal training and welfare community has become commonplace. While the core principles of Behavior Analysis (i.e., a focus on reinforcement contingencies and functional understandings of behavior) are now frequently used for applied animal behavior purposes, it’s not always clear how this is directly applied...
Over the past several decades, zoos have focused more directly on the welfare of their exhibited species. The use of “naturalistic” enclosures, environmental enrichment, changes in the ways food is presented, and the use of training procedures are just a few examples of the attempts aimed at increasing the well-being of captive animals. This focus...
Paper presented at the University of British Columbia’s Animal Welfare Seminar, Vancouver, BC (Canada).
Paper presented at The Ethics of Creating Motivation in Animal Training Symposium, Lund, SE (Sweden).
Zoo animals serve an important function in helping educate the public about their conservation needs. Despite this important function, little is understood about how visitors perceive different zoo exhibits and the animals that reside within them. In the present study, the behaviors displayed by two jaguars located at the Woodland Park Zoo were cor...
One of the most tedious aspects of the behavior consult is the record write-up. The ideal write-up should be detailed enough to serve as a legal document and to provide the information the client needs. It should be concise and organized well enough to allow you to quickly obtain an overview of the pet’s progress as well as factors, such as owner t...
Zoos have multiple functions, one of which is educating/entertaining visitors that come to the zoo. This plays an important role for other zoo functions; by educating and entertaining zoo visitors, they are more likely to gain support for their conservation efforts. In addition, visitors contribute money directly to the zoo, which helps the zoo car...
Poster presented at the American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting, Houston, TX.
The Humboldt penguin exhibit at the Woodland Park Zoo currently houses 20+ individuals. Once a week (Fridays, 11 am) during the spring/summer, live trout are dumped into the exhibit for the penguins. We examined the result of this live feeding on the overall swimming activity of the group as a whole. Of primary interest is how the live feeds effect...
Behavioral stereotypies in captive animals have been defined as repetitive, largely invariant patterns of behavior that serve no obvious goal or function (Mason, 1991a; Ödberg, 1978). Stereotypies are commonly attributed to boredom or fear, and are typically “treated” by enriching captivity with distracting, appealing stimuli. These stimuli often i...
Animal welfare, education, conservation, research, and entertainment are major goals of modern zoos, but they can be in conflict. For example, visitors enjoy learning about and observing natural behavior in captive animals, but visitors often want to observe and interact with the animals in close proximity. Unfortunately, proximity to and social in...
Dissertation publication. It is available in book form: Fernandez, E. J. (2010). Stereotypies and Foraging: Appetitive Search Behaviors and Stereotypies in Captive Animals. VDM Publishing. ISBN-10: 3639252098 ISBN-13: 978-3639252095 (available on Amazon.com). File also available to view or download for free under my profile 'Book' section: http://d...
Questions
Questions (5)
Dear Colleagues,
Please see the following link and information for more details. If you are thinking about submitting, please feel free to reach out to me directly here or at edjfern@gmail.com.
The modern field of Applied Animal Behavior has brought about two major advances in the behavioral welfare of animals: (1) The use of environmental/behavioral enrichment, and (2) the implementation of voluntary training procedures to improve human-animal interactions. Both these practices have their roots in behavior analysis and learning theory. However, few studies have examined the learning effects observed in the application of these practices. For instance, most implementations of operant conditioning to the training of animals is done without measurement of the learning process. Likewise, the effects of enrichment, while originally proposed as a form of behavioral engineering to modify learned behavior, is almost exclusively measured in terms of its pre- vs. post-enrichment effect. Both modern advances thus miss a significant result of their implementation: How behavior is shaped by these environmental manipulations.
The following special issue looks to address how learning theory has been applied and measured to address the welfare of animals. Original manuscripts that examine any aspect of how learning theory has been applied to improve the lives of animals, from studies of behavioral training procedures to the modification of behavior as a result of some environmental change, are welcome submissions. Specific interest will be given to papers that use within-subject methodology to measure changes in behavior over time, as well as papers that address how behavior analysis has served the welfare of animals and can better contribute to the field.
Dr. Eduardo J. Fernandez
Ms. Sabrina Brando
Guest Editors
Here's a question that extends beyond applied animal behavior researchers, with hopefully a few researchers or even librarians with expertise in massive article searches that might be able to provide some help. The basics are this: We started a meta-analysis of enrichment about a decade ago:
The idea was to extend the three enrichment meta-analyses that looked at what effect enrichment had on stereotypic behavior in zoo animals (Shyne, 2006; Swaisgood & Shepherdson, 2005; Swaisgood & Shepherdson, 2006) to more than just stereotypies and in more settings than zoos. We were looking at the effects of enrichment on all different behaviors (e.g., foraging, inactivity, social) as well as across numerous species and in zoos, shelters, farms, stables, labs, etc. At the start of this project (2010), we managed to find 12,000 articles that were limited to 150 papers mainly by using the Google Scholar "OR" function (i.e., enrichment OR stereotypy OR welfare OR behavior...), and then limiting it to (a) peer-reviewed publications that (b) did some type of enrichment to baseline independent variable manipulation, and (c) measured at least one type of behavioral effect.
The difficulty we have run into is this: Google Scholar only allows any query to produce 1000 searches. And there have been a lot more studies done since 2010, with anywhere from 23,000 to 50k+, depending on how we exclude terms. We can search by year for each, but that is less effective. And, we could include other search engines, like Web of Science, to produce more accurate results. I just feel like we're going about this in a less optimal way if we start limiting searches by year. So that is essentially it:
What is the most optimal way to produce a large meta-analytic search on peer-reviewed publications that have examined the effects of environmental/behavioral enrichment on (a) any kind of behavior (b) in any setting?
It has to be at least partially experimental since we require a non-enriched baseline measure for comparison. Other than that, we would like to find all the papers we can, probably in the range of 250 - 500, and then start doing our meta-analysis on what those papers have to say about enrichment used with different species/taxa, different types of enrichment, different settings, and so on. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
References:
Shyne (2006). Meta‐analytic review of the effects of enrichment on stereotypic behavior in zoo mammals. Zoo Biol, 25(4), 317-337.
Swaisgood, R. R., & Shepherdson, D. J. (2005). Scientific approaches to enrichment and stereotypies in zoo animals: what's been done and where should we go next?. Zoo Biol, 24(6), 499-518.
Swaisgood, R., & Shepherdson, D. (2006). Environmental enrichment as a strategy for mitigating stereotypies in zoo animals: a literature review and meta-analysis. Stereotypic Animal Behaviour: Fundamentals and Applications to Welfare. CABI, 256-285.
I thought it might be nice to add recent references to this project (Wellness and Animal Welfare), since one of the goals seems to be increasing general knowledge of animal wellness/well-being. I'd be happy to include some of my own, as well as other recent references from zoo researchers and the like.
If we were to add references, what's the best way to go about adding them here? You can add files directly to questions/answers, and that's at least partially helpful. Any better ways to add suggestions?
I'm interested in starting a discussion about using animal training for husbandry and other purposes as a form of enrichment itself. Many authors have proposed the idea (Desmond & Laule; Melfi, etc.), but I'm particularly interested in experimental examinations of this phenomenon. If training can function as a form of enrichment, what welfare benefits would we expect to see? Reduced stereotypies? Increased general activity? Time spent foraging? Increased non-aberrant social behaviors? What about species differences? And possibly most important, if training is enriching, what about it is responsible for that effect? I can think of at least several potential causal factors: (a) social interactions with the trainer(s), (b) extra feeding/foraging opportunities, and (c) increased activity (depending on what behavior(s) are being trained). Are there any other causal variables that might be responsible for this effect, if there is such an effect?
The main purpose of the document is to provide students interested in applied animal behavior research a tool for finding graduate programs that they might be interested in, as well as giving faculty and other persons a more systematic and comprehensive tool for advising students about their graduate school options. Categorical variables include: (a) university, (b) state/country, (c) department, (d) degrees, (e) people [i.e., potential mentors], (f) setting, and (g) research description. Please feel free to ask questions about this file and any of the categories listed, as well as suggesting new categories, potential changes to the document, and last but not least, any institutions/facilities you know of that are not currently listed in the document.
